I am not so sure whether it is trout that I love so much, or the places trout live. I never get bored fly fishing for trout, because they always seem to live in the most interesting places and no two places are ever the same. When I arrived in the Allegheny Mountains of Virginia, I knew I was in trout country. Giant waterfalls poured off of rock cliffs as I weaved my through the mountains. It’s hard to explain, but I could just feel it in my bones and I just knew I was surrounded by trout. It had been some time since I had trout fished on smaller creeks and rivers. Most of the waters I fish in Maine are big and rugged, and I had almost forgotten about the sense of mystery and adventure that accompanies smaller mountainous trout streams. I arrived to the river and it was as though I arrived at the pearly heaven gates. It has been a long and cold winter in Maine. Steelhead fishing offers no real comfort and it had been a long time since I had wet waded while casting dry flies to rising trout. I threw on my boots, rigged up my fly rod and starting my way upstream. As I ventured further and further upstream I became more engulfed by my surroundings, less troubled by all of the day-to-day things that were on my mind only hours before and more curious as to what might be waiting around the next corner. I was never disappointed. Beautiful waterfalls that cascaded into aqua blue plunge pools and wild rainbow trout with colors and markings that not even the best artist could replicate. I was in trout heaven. I spent my time fly fishing all sorts of water and catching rainbow trout of all sizes. I micro managed the little river and had to unlearn all of my big water habits. I was amazed to find fish sipping dry flies in the most obscure and hard to get to places and equally amazed to pick fish out of riffles that, upon first glance, seemed insignificant. I realized quickly that a rising trout was very easily spooked by any vibrations in the water or any change in the small and quite environment. And, I was equally amazed to catch some relatively big fish for these small environments. I spent my time getting burned by many picky trout and scratching my head wondering why 6x tippet and tiny midges were not working. I also felt a huge sense of accomplishment after having one trout in particular refuse everything in my box, until finally I waited him out and tricked him with an emerger. The trout streams of Virginia truly rejuvenated the very core of my fly fishing being, because they brought back the mystery and the wonderment and all of the elements of fly fishing that got me hooked in the first place. So, if you ever find yourself growing tired of the same-old-same-old and feel as though the rivers that you know so well have lost their luster; consider exploring some new smaller mountain streams. You might find, as I did, that wondering what’s around the next bend or if their might be a trout in the next plunge pool is the very thing you need to refresh your fly fishing spirit.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Jeremy,
Great fish tale and video. Your description of the small stream environment is dead on. Wading through the shallow streams and going one on one with a trout is a great experience.
Nice vid jeremy.
The dryfly seasson is slowly starting now in Scandinavia, but I still have’nt had the first trip this year. Your fishtale and video made me get the dryfly box and the #3 rod and put it in the trunk of my car ‘just in case ..’
Wow! very impressive solo work…Great shots in there. That must have been pretty time consuming. You must have been beside yourself, being the waterfall junkie that you are. That place looks wicked.
Jeremy, this is the best footage I have seen you take since I have joined the site. The solo work was awesome. You had some great shots in there. It was nice to see your trip come together. From the time you said you were doing some dry fly fishing in Va, until you released the last rainbow in the video. Just really nice stuff Jeremy.
Mike
Jeremy,
Your story reminds me of some trips I went on last summer on smaller water. Each pool, each riffle seems to be better than the last and there is some outside force that keeps you moving around each bend of the river until you’ve left yourself with an exhausting walk back to the truck.
I also noticed that you’re in Portland. I’m on Emery St, right around the corner from Boz – I’d love to meet up and fish or tie some flies and throw back a couple.
Jesse
Bates Fishing Club ’06
great stuff and good video Jer. You make us North bound fishers jealous by your mobility (Word?) Keep up the good work, I guess t’s time to play—“Where in the world is Jeremy” haha.
Fantastic video and the music was great! It loooked perfect, no one around, wich begs the question who shot the film, and visions of a trnquill setting that any fly fisherman would love. I especially liked the shorts and wading shoes in contrast to the wading through knee deep snow here.
I was on the water that day with BFC06, small water trumps big water in my book any day. There is something about the adventure, the unspoiled territory, and the knowledge that you’re probably one of only a handful of individuals to fish that water in the past decade. I’m up in the Farmington area, and am down in Portland quite often on Emery St. w/ BFC06, I think a day on the water with Boz and the three of us is in order sometime soon.
Great stuff bro. I had a feeling you would find a nice piece of water to fish down there. Gotta love hooking into nice rainbows like that on dries this early in the season.
Nice job j-bone I dig it.
That looks like fun.
But!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My first river fishing was in 2005 in Montana I only knew about dry flies so that’s what I’ve done. I miss this time pass along rivers there.
Your story and video remind me that…thank you
hey everyone .. thanks for all the great comments! much appreciated! … through the years, i have really come to enjoy the fly fishing, fliming and wrapping my music around it … i am not much a fly tyer, so when i am not on the water … the fishtales and videos are a way for me really stay connected to fly fishing and crystalize a trip through a multi-dimensional piece of work .. it may not be for everyone, but it is an outlet for me and something that has kind of become part of fly fishing itself… and it’s really cool becaue as more time passes and the more i work with this stuff … i find myself while fly fishing thinking of where trout might be, lyrics, harmonies, melodies, new camera angles, things i can do before and after editing, what shot might fit well with a line of lyric etc…… and through all of this .. in a way i never really expected …. these fly fishing films have become so much more for me than just fly fishing … a 3 minute fly fishing production gives me an outlet to excercise my creativity through music, fly fishing and the lens of a camera …. and i think it is an amazing power of technology to be able to do all of this with a cheap camera and any computer and some free software … and then share it with the world via the internet … …. the fact that people actually like my work (or at least they are kind enough to pretend the do) is an added bonus ….. thanks again!
Jeremy:
Great work on the film. My favorite trip in the last few years happens to be one spent in the mountains streams near Lynchburg VA. The water falls and huge boulders and the wild fish are the best part. Hiking in and exploring was half the fun and the wild spirit of the native brookies set the trip off.
I have family in the Lynchburgh area, could you please send me a Private Message with some general fishing info about the area. I would greatly appreciate it. It would be nice to get some fishing in while visiting. Thank you
Mike
Nice work, J! There really is something special about fooling stream trout on the fly. This seems especially true when the outing takes place on such pristine waters
Jeremy, mind if I ask whhat river(s) in Virginia you were fishing. I happen to live in Charlottesville. Thanks
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Where did you fish in Virginia? I live in Virginia and I am planning a trip this weekend.